Medical Student : Memorized Qur’an in 2 and a Half Month

First of all, alhamdulilah … alhamdulilah.. Allah has blessed me with this great Amanah (trust) and this great gift.. Alhamdulilah.. And I ask Him humbly to allow me two things: to revise the quran, and to inspire others. May Allah bless you with this great gift. It can be done. All you need is determination and duaa. You don’t even need all the time in the world.

It was a crash-memorization camp, and alhamdulilah/mashallah I finished in about 2 months and half. Alhamdulilah I was on vacation for part of my memorization journey, but for the majority I was busy, still going to school (the hospital, 5 days a week). Still having to see patients, still getting in trouble with doctors for slacking off. Although I wasn’t studying, time really was not on my side- but I realized that’s not what’s most important. Many girls in the actual camp finished in 2 months, and the first girl finished in one month. It really is possible!

I was supposed to finish in 2 months exactly- 10 pages a day. Most days I could do this, but on days I couldn’t I would make it up the next day if possible.. which is fine- still worth it. Still, make your goal big.. Reach for the moon and you will land among the stars!

Here is a general idea:

Pages/Day

How long to finish

Notes

20

1 month

Nice if you have a month off, and can use your time only for Quran

10

2 months

Very feasible- long enough to finish, short enough not to lose motivation

7

2 months and 3 weeks

5

4 months

Nice if you have semi-work load.

2

10 months

Worth it if you have a good one hour a day.

1

20 months (1 yr, 8 mo)

Here are my humble tips:

Seek Allah’s help. Make duaa. When you reach Juzu 7.. or 14.. or anything.. and you start to lose motivation- turn to him. They are His words and He alone can teach you them.

Get a portion done in the morning, especially if you are busy. The days where I could manage at least 1-2 pages before noon, made the 10 pages much easier. If I started after noon, it would take longer. #EarlyBirdBarakeh

Cancel Stuff. Say No more often. You have to cut back on some things you are used to. Its just the way it works. Even if you do have time to do other things, you don’t have the energy. Too much non-quran things really takes you away from the mood. If your friends start to get annoyed by how much you are saying no recently- then you are doing it right.

Find Recitation Coach(es). I couldn’t stay with the camp the whole time- so I would recite to my mom, sister, and friends. Try to stick to a couple people but have more than one person. If you need to recite and the person is busy you will get discouraged- so try to have a back-up. I used to even recite on the phone sometimes!

Memorize and recite DAILY. No days off. None. Even if you memorize only page and your goal is to memorize 10. It has to become a habit. Plus, you start one page… then the next page looks easy.. then the next one goes fast..

Big chunks are easier! I used to think memorizing one page a time is faster- but actually.. memorizing 4-6 pages at a time makes it go faster. Its like your brain gets into “memorization” mode-and whats you recite to someone else its hard to get back into “memorization” mode to start again. So if you are doing 10 pages, try to memorize 6.. recite them to your “coach”, then the 4 pages will be easy inshallah. Even memorizing all 10 is not that hard!

Don’t tell too many people at first. Because it gets kind of stressful when they keep asking where you reached, how many pages you’ve done, etc. Tell your “coaches” and tell your close friends for motivation and to not lose sight of the goal.

Free your Mind-more than your time! It’s not about how many hours you have a day as much as how much you need to reduce mental clutter. I can get much more done in 2 hours relaxed than in 6 when I am worrying about something. The Quran does not enter with chaos. So before you start, make your to-do lists and put them aside, get essential things done, free yourself from worries and commitments. If anything worries you while you are memorizing, remember Shaytan doesn’t want you to focus and that the Quran will take care of your worries.

When you are sleepy-do one more. I don’t even know why. I guess its just about pushing yourself. But I always felt barakeh when I did 1-2 more pages at night when I was getting sleepy rather than giving up.

Motivate yourself with baby steps. Its daunting to be in Surat AlBaqara and be dreaming of Surat AlNaas. Just keep imagining how happy you will be to be in the next surah or next few juzu2s. When I was in the 13th I would be like: ya rab.. I want to reach 15…the middle. Then in 15- Ya rab, I want to reach 20th juzu2.. the majority. Then in the 20th.. Ya rab- till the 25th so almost nothing is left.. Then, ya rab- I have to finish!!

Use one Mushaaf . Don’t switch around. I used mine every single day. And I used a pencil to mark around words and underline ayahs. And post-it notes for the next juzu2 so I would get excited to reach it. Try to get a standard size quran- too small is hard to memorize from. Too big is hard to hold. Avoid electronic Mushafs- they personally give me headaches and I find take more time. Plus you cant write on them.

Phone- silent. Far away. I muted almost all notifications.

Find your memorization-style. My best memorization technique is sign- language! I look hilarious when I recite something I know well. I memorize it all with hand gestures. It really helped me. I also sometimes would write them out, or write out the beginning of each ayah. Walking also helped because it gave me energy-but only for a few pages at a time. Listening to ayahs is nice-especially if you have trouble reading- but is time-consuming. But please do this if you can’t read it well because the worst thing you can do is memorize something wrong the first time.

Divide page into halves or thirds-then glue together. Do one ayah, repeat a couple times. Do the next ayah, then repeat it with the one before it. Divide the page in halves or thirds depending on how many ayahs a page, then try them together at the end.

When reviewing a large amount, review the BEGINNING of each ayah. When you keep repeating an ayah, chances are if you can start it you can finish it. So don’t waste your attention re-reading the whole page. Just test if you know the beginning of each ayah.

Stay away from sins… but when you mess up- repent and keep going.
Shaytan will tell you: there’s no point to memorize- you are a sinner. Or will remind you of a sin so that you feel that you can’t memorize. Seek refuge from Allah and keep going. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Holy Book from Allah teaching us how to live our life. You won’t be perfect by the end.
This is us trying to come closer to Allah as humans. Seek refuge from the shaytan, say Bismillah- and #justkeepmemorizing.

Take breaks after reciting to someone- not after memorizing. I don’t know if this just worked for me- but I always found it more efficient. And don’t make them long. 10 minutes are a good refresher. More than that and you will lose the “memorization- mode”

Find a partner. Or a group! Make it a challenge for those around you. Even away from the camp I was motivated thinking of the girls sitting memorizing at the camp working towards my same goal.

Try to stay focused. When you take too long on one page because of distractions or daydreaming- it takes extra extra long. Stay focused, finish the page, then take your break.

Not all ayahs are the same. Some ayahs are harder, you will have to find new ways to memorize them or repeat them more. That’s fine.

Set time goals. I used to always have a max goal of half an hour per page. More than that- and I knew I was doing something wrong or not focusing. Sometimes it takes less- which is great! Just don’t lose track of time.

Make connections. Sometimes I would relate one word with one word in the next ayah. It really helps. For example.. an ayah that has my friends name, and the next ayah would remind me of another friend. So I would connect those two words to tie the two ayahs together..

Look up tough words. Sometimes understanding that ONE hard word in the ayah- makes you understand the ENTIRE ayah which helps you understand the page and really helps you memorize. Too much tafseer while memorizing makes it harder- you start to understand it but forget the actual words.

Tarteel later.. (Tarteel: slow, beautified recitation) I suggest that you don’t keep repeating each ayah with full tarteel when memorizing- it takes too long if you are aiming for a short time-frame and sometimes you memorize the “sound” and not the actual words. When I would memorize I would repeat them relatively quickly- to not lose energy or focus. (When you are done memorizing- enjoy your tarteel.)

Once you finish, start planning your revision strategy. It is not a once and for all thing, and revising is essential! Especially if you finish it in a short time period.

Ayahs about stories are the easiest! Enjoy them!

A few Notes:
For all those who asked, I do speak and read Arabic, and I have been alhamdulilah learning tajweed and Arabic for years. For those who do not speak Arabic or know Tajweed it would be best if you spent some time learning those first so you can memorize it correctly the first time.

Also, I know from all my role models who memorized the Quran before me that you must memorize it several times. I realize that I have a lot of revision to do, and May Allah forgive us for our shortcomings, but we really do have to start somewhere..

Hope these help.. I ask of whoever is reading this to please keep me in your Du’aas..

May Allah bless you with memorizing the Quran and practicing its meanings.. And May the light of the Quran illuminate your path always.

MashaAllah, Allah blessed her with such an achievement, and may Allah reward her for her tips. But personally, I dont encourage memorizing the Qur’an in a very short period.

I memorized half of the Qur’an in a month in a camp like the one she participated in, but later, I couldnt persevere on revision due to the lack of wisdom in managing my time, just like the other sisters who memorized with me, which caused us to forget most of what we have done! may Allah forgive us! I guess it’s better to advance slowly slowly, not more than half a Hizb (4 or 5 pages) for those who are really free and have time to repeat as many times as they can, and revision is even more important; one shouldnt advance if he feels that what he did has not been ‘fixed’ yet.

Moreover, one shouldnt forget that we also should focus on understanding and implementing what we are memorizing. The real competition is not about who completes the memorization first, but abt who ponders over the meanings memorized and acting according to them.. If we have a look at the Sahabah’s bio, we would see how careful were they when memorizing, to a point that they could spend years on memorizing only one surah! This should not discourage us of course, but we have to put our first goal as living according to the Quran.

may Allah guide us all and make us among those who memorize the Quran and act upon it!

Is there any female out there who is memorizing Quran with good tajweed
and the one who can read fluently and catch mistake quickly, that is
interested in being my partner in Memorizing Quran? It will be
beneficial for both InshAllah. (email me: maryamt786@yahoo.com)

MashaAllah , may Allah swt guide you to keep it in your heart and mind and to live accordingly, and bless you and your parents with HIS pleasure and the highest of ranks ,amen. Very happy for you and we share the same name, Bushra.

I am doing my memorization in Morocco and a voice within have been pestering me on how hard it really is to memorize the Book of Allah. Your story and tips on memorization are a breath of fresh air. I am inspired and truly appreciate to have someone who really understands. May Allah bless you abundantly. May He assist and protect all the students of Qur’an. Amin!

I am a new revert to islam and I am memorizing also. I just decided to make a blog to journal my process and struggles towards becoming a Hafidha
of Quran. This is very inspiring to me. I have faced many challenges and ridicules and mocks because of not being born a native speaker from born muslims and even from reverts who are not very encouraging some even seem jealous, I mean is this what to expect when you do things for Allah people who are this way. ., but Alhamdulillah I am doing it for the sake of Allah and I want the reward and blessings that goes with it. So far I have memorize about 8juz so far .
I believe. I plan to keep going no matter how long it take. I am not in any rush or time frame . I just want to memorize for the sake of Allah.

I have a question. With the daily struggle and life of dunya and distraction . I am sometimes finding it hard to concentrate on my studies, and some times procrastinate
what can I do to help me with this. sometimes also getting stressed as well because I want to do good.

Asalam alaikum to all of you. May Allah bless you all. I would like to ask from where should I start memorizing Quran. I am a non-arabic speaker, so even if I learn Quraan I would not be able to understand its meaning. Is it necessary for me to learn Arabic first??….The place where I live has probably no camps for memorization so all I need to do is to make efforts by myself. I believe in Allah that I will be successful insha Allah. Just need some help..where to start with. For now I just need a start. Please help.
May Allah shower His blessings on all of us…Ameen.

My advise would be start at the back, the last part 30 called Juz Amma, the reason I say this is the last part is the easiest and it has short Surahs . This is were all people who are just starting out memorizing Quran do. Start from the back. Also try to find a good teacher who can help you who has a ijazah and can listen to you and correct your mistakes if you have any who can help you learn proper Tajweed.

Assalamu Alaikum.. Ma sha Allah sister .. may allah reward you for your efforts. I’m actually in need of advice. Alhamdulilah i’ve completed memorizing 6 juz’- 26-30 & 1. But I wasn’t able to carry on with the memorization and have a gap of 2 years. I have been able to recover all that ive memorized but dont know where to begin from.. I’m confused and feel that i’ve lost my link with the Quran. Some advice would help. Jazakillah!

This is a muslimah blog but today a brother will benefit from I was inspired by Hafidha Busra journey I’ll start my journey immediately after I complete my Tajweed course at Islamic online university , I’ll finish my Tajweed in less than a month then I’ll continue with my Qur’an journey to memorize Qur’an.

Jazakallahu kayr , I wish you the best here and in the here after Busra.